KUALA LUMPUR: The submission of bids for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (KL-Singapore HSR) assets company (AssetsCo) tender has been extended by six months to Dec 28.

A joint statement by MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR Corp) and SG HSR Pte Ltd (SG HSR) on Thursday said this extension of time won't affect the Dec 31, 2026 date for the HSR Express Service to begin service.

“Following the close of the tender, MyHSR Corp and SG HSR expect to complete their evaluation and announce the tender results by the third quarter of 2019,” the statement said.

To recap, the AssetsCo tender was jointly called by MyHSR Corp and SG HSR on Dec 20, 2017.

Image credit: The Star

"After careful consideration, we have extended the tender submission deadline by six months, in view of the complexity and scale of the project. We look forward to receiving high quality and competitive proposals from all the bidders."

The AssetsCo will be responsible for designing, building, financing and maintaining all rolling stock, as well as designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets such as track work, power, signalling and telecommunications for the KL-Singapore HSR project.

The AssetsCo will also manage the system network for operations and maintenance needs.

MyHSR Corp CEO Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal and SG HSR managing director, Rama Venkta said: “We are encouraged by the strong interest in the AssetsCo tender. While the bidders are progressing with their tender preparations, they have also requested for additional time to develop their tender submissions that offer better value to both Governments.

“After careful consideration, we have extended the tender submission deadline by six months, in view of the complexity and scale of the project. We look forward to receiving high quality and competitive proposals from all the bidders.

“Following the close of the tender, MyHSR Corp and SG HSR expect to complete their evaluation and announce the tender results by the third quarter of 2019,” they said.